Feeding 4 week old

[Kel33]

Hello mums,
Just curious really as I'm struggling to remember/ get my head around amounts. My little one was born at 36 weeks and has been on a feeding plan as he lost a lot of weight. He's back on track and now gaining but I feel like I'm struggling with worrying if he's getting enough/too much.
He is combination fed but I think my supply must be dwindling as he is rarely satisfied after coming off the breast and definitely needs the formula top ups in his plan. I am torn between keeping persisting with the breastfeeding or just switching to formula for peace of mind.
What are others doing with there babies of a similar age??

That is likely just cluster feeding. Formula top ups will be sabotaging your milk supply though so IF you want to continue BF, formula top ups are only to be used for a short time. Do you have a lactation consultant? Who put you on the feeding plan? In my experience, those are meant for the first few weeks only.

I breastfed mine and he had days and especially nights when he was on the boob constantly. They're working to build your milk supply in the first 6 weeks, it's normal. Although horrible, I remember having hallucinations from the sleep deprivation as he would essentially cluster feed for 12 hours at a time.

I did pay a few hundred £ for a lactation consultant as my midwife was less than knowledgeable and we had a lot of problems in the first few days. She was an angel and rescued my BF journey. So that's an option you should consider. Otherwise check out some BF groups and the La Leche League website.

As above, a fussy baby who wants to breastfeed all the time isn't a sign that you have an issue with your supply at all. Even a full newborn will down a bottle of milk because the milk flows more easily from a bottle than a breast and the baby's reflex is to suck. They keep sucking and swallowing until theres nothing left then pass out from exhaustion. The milk flow varies at the best and the baby has to work harder to remove the milk so they can stop more easily when they're done.

Definitely look for some support. La Leche League, Moma, and The National Breastfeeding Helpline are all good places to start but a chat with an IBCLC (International Board Certified Lactation Consultant) world be ideal!

Thank you for your response!
It was the midwives in the first week that put the plan in place and the health visitor is continuing to monitor it, she's weighing him again on Wednesday. I asked the health visitor about what to do going forward and she was quite vague in terms of seeing how his weight is on Wednesday. She did seem quite keen for me to keep breastfeeding and to hopefully drop some top ups in favour of breastfeeding.
Il have a look at that site and see what is on there!
I remember feeling a bit lost with it with my son 5 years ago but there was little support due to COVID!

Thank you for your reply!
That was part of the problem we've had at the first few weeks that he was breastfeeding but enough to put him to sleep then that was him. But he was losing weight so wasn't getting enough before sleeping. He's getting more alert etc now. Il have a look at those sites you have mentioned!

Can you pump? If so then I’d do this, it’s what I chose when breastfeeding wasn’t working well and I needed reassurance he was eating enough but I still wanted him to have breastmilk

Thank you for your response! When we started the plan I was trying to use expressed breast milk for the top ups, however I found it too tying, especially with my 5 year old who was already struggling with the transition. I had a very difficult birth/time before and after having baby so I just don't think I was in the right head space to do it so ruled it out. Feeling very flat about it all trying to decide what to do for the best for me/baby and family life

Congratulations 🙂 your baby is coming to dye date and starting to behave like a newborn, rather than a sleepy early baby. I would recommend looking at the links on this site- I know you don't have twins but there's lots of info for early babies.

Babies born at 36/37 weeks – Breastfeeding Twins and Triplets https://share.google/W1KFGYVG8kc

You can also talk/ DM with the national bf helpline who offer phone and DM high quality support. Your midwife/ HV can advise about local face to face support, which will support you to bf, combi feed or whatever works for you.

Fuck pumping. I had to do it as I went back to work when my baby was 6 months. It's an insane amount of work. And it's not feasible if you're also doing the feeding. The only women I know who pumped and had a positive experience had a nanny or a stay at home partner. Being alone with a baby and trying to pump and feed will be horrific, on top of all the newborn hard work.

Try a lactation consultant and some of the resources quoted here. BF does get easier, much easier around the 4 month mark. But formula is totally fine. Babies thrive on it.

Try some resources quoted above first but if it doesn't work, make that decision quickly. Don't ruin your time with your newborn because of BF.